There is no right or wrong way to get a good workout and several different training programs and techniques can deliver results. Moreover, if you ask a personal trainer to describe the most efficient way to do any form of exercise, you won't get one clear, definitive answer. However, there are proven workout techniques that can make your training more efficient and effective. Follow a few simple tips to enhance your gym workout and achieve your personal fitness goals.
Warm-Up Properly
Walking on the treadmill or riding the exercise bike for five to 10 minutes prior to your workout can help to prevent injury. Warming up pumps blood to working muscles, and to do it properly you only need to get your heart rate going and work up a slight sweat. For resistance training, warming up can mean doing one to two lighter sets of an exercise before moving on to the more challenging sets. "Xtreme Lean" authors Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman recommend two controlled, light sets with 50 and 75 percent, respectively, of your working set weight.
Compound Before Isolation
According to Lawson and Holman, doing your compound exercises first delivers a more efficient workout. Compound exercises, such as bench presses or squats, involve multiple muscle groups and joints to engage more muscle fibers. Isolation movements that directly target one muscle make great workout finishers, but devoting all your time and energy to them is inefficient and fails to produce the anabolic (muscle building) effects of compound movements.
Controlled Negatives
By controlling your negatives you can better engage the target muscle group, according to "Optimum Anabolics." Negatives refer to the lowering part of each repetition. For example, when you lower the barbell to your chest in the bench press, count a slow three- to six-second negative as you lower the weight.
Rest Intervals
Shortening rest intervals between sets increases workout intensity. If you normally rest one minute between sets, try decreasing to 30 to 45 seconds. On the other hand, if you train for strength and power, you may want to increase your rest time to two minutes or more.
Workout Duration
Limit your workout duration to less than one hour. According to "Optimum Anabolics," training for more than 60 minutes dramatically increases the body's production of the stress hormone cortisol, which can negate the positive effects of working out by tearing down muscle and turning off fat burning.
Cardio Timing
Doing your cardiovascular training before resistance training exercise is like trying to take a road trip on an empty tank of gas, according to "Combat the Fat" author Jeff Anderson. He recommends doing cardio after resistance training to directly target body fat stores for use as energy.
References
- "Xtreme Lean"; Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman; 2005
- "Combat the Fat"; Jeff Anderson; 2008
- "Optimum Anabolics"; Jeff Anderson; 2004
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